IFSEC International is no longer running as a standalone London exhibition. For many years IFSEC was the anchor security and fire trade fair at ExCeL London, latterly grouped with the Anticipate London series. That series was retired in 2025, and there is no IFSEC International edition at ExCeL London in 2026. This page is kept in place to correct the record and to point exhibitors to where the UK security-industry audience has moved, because a number of stand-building listings still advertise an "IFSEC London 2026" that does not exist.
Where the UK security audience exhibits now
The commercial security, fire and integration audience that IFSEC served in the UK is now concentrated at The Security Event, held at the NEC in Birmingham. The 2026 edition runs 28 to 30 April 2026 at the NEC. It sits within a co-located cluster, the Safety and Security Event Series, alongside The Fire Safety Event, The Health and Safety Event, The Workplace Event and the National Cyber Security Show, so a single build reaches the wider safety, security and facilities buyer base in one visit. Exhibitors who previously planned an IFSEC stand should redirect their 2026 UK security-fair planning to the NEC dates above rather than to any London listing.
What this means for stand planning
The move from ExCeL London to the NEC Birmingham changes the practical build picture in a few concrete ways. The NEC is a large, well-served fairground with its own rail station and extensive on-site logistics, and its build regime and forwarder arrangements differ from ExCeL's dockside site. Exhibitors carrying over a stand designed for the old London show should confirm hall dimensions, height limits and rigging rules against the NEC's technical manual rather than assuming the ExCeL specification still applies. For companies travelling from outside the UK, the post-Brexit customs position is unchanged by the venue move: equipment brought in for return still generally needs an ATA Carnet, and our ATA Carnet cost guide covers the per-country fees and the common mistakes to avoid.
If you were searching for IFSEC in London
ExCeL London remains one of Europe's major exhibition venues and still hosts a dense calendar of technology, defence and B2B events, so London is not off the map for exhibitors; it simply is not where the IFSEC security audience now gathers. Our London exhibition city guide and ExCeL London venue guide cover working at that venue in detail, from build-up windows and RAMS paperwork to forwarders and hotels, for the many other shows ExCeL continues to run. For the security fair specifically, though, the honest answer is Birmingham in April, not London.
Planning a stand for The Security Event or another UK show
Whether you are following the security audience to the NEC or exhibiting at another UK fair, the build fundamentals are the same, and our guide to exhibiting in the UK sets out the British exhibition culture, health-and-safety documentation and lead-times that catch out first-time exhibitors. When you are ready to source a contractor, our verified builder directory lets you filter for firms with UK and NEC experience, and our full fair directory lists the current, correctly-dated European shows. We keep this note here, rather than deleting it, so that anyone still working from an out-of-date IFSEC London reference lands on accurate information instead of a broken link.